The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for generating billing statements, and more specifically to methods and apparatus for using billing statements to provide supplementary product sales.
Many businesses provide each of their customers with a billing statement detailing the customer""s charges over a period of time. For example, credit card issuers provide each of their account holders with a billing statement that lists each transaction, such as purchases and payments, which have been applied against their credit card account. Each transaction listed on the statement (each xe2x80x9cbilling itemxe2x80x9d) specifies a transaction amount, such as a purchase price debited to the account or a payment credited to the account. Billing items may further comprise merchant-specified text identifying the transaction, such as a merchant name, merchant address and/or merchant telephone number. A billing statement further includes an amount of payment due which is calculated by aggregating the transaction amounts.
Billing statements may also be used for advertising to account holders. Many merchants pay one or more credit card issuers for the ability to promote goods and services in flyers that are sent with credit card billing statements. For example, NewSub Services, Inc. is a merchant that advertises magazine subscriptions through attachments to billing statements. In this manner, an account holder""s billing statement can serve as a medium for advertising to that account holder.
Billing statements may also be used for notifying account holders of rewards they have earned. First Data Corporation""s U-$ave program provides a reward, such as a 10% discount, to each account holder who has met predetermined criteria. The account holder""s billing statement indicates the discount earned, and an amount of payment due is adjusted and printed on the statement. Similarly, the American Express Custom Extras program and Express Rewards program each allow merchants to specify reward criteria. Account holders that meet the criteria are notified on their billing statement of what reward they have earned.
Billing statements thus serve to notify account holders of transaction history, merchant promotions and rewards earned. At best, merchants hope that such notification may generate some future sales. However, like all advertising, the notification may be ignored by the account holders, and no future sales to the account holders are guaranteed.
It would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus for utilizing billing statements in a more efficient manner to generate additional sales to account holders.
It is an object of the present invention to provide methods and systems using automated, predetermined criteria to print upsell offers for products on a billing statement and allowing account holders to purchase those offered products using the billing statement.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a central controller, such as one operating for a credit card account issuer, receives one or more billing items which are to be printed on an account holder""s billing statement. The central controller determines if the billing items, which typically specify purchases, satisfy any merchant-specified upsell offer conditions. The upsell offer conditions may include the purchase of a predetermined product or a purchase which exceeds a predefined price.
Such upsell offer conditions, when satisfied, direct the central controller to offer an upsell on the billing statement. If any of the upsell offer conditions are satisfied, the central controller determines one or more upsell offers that correspond to the upsell offer condition. The upsell offers may be, for example, discounts on predetermined products, especially products complementary to previously purchase products. The upsells are offered to the account holder by printing indicia specifying the upsells onto the billing statement.
The account holder may accept the upsell offer, for example, by circling or marking a corresponding xe2x80x9ccheck boxxe2x80x9d on the billing statement and returning the statement with payment. Upon receiving an indication that an upsell offer was accepted, the upsell is provided, typically in the form of a reduced price at a point-of-sale terminal or a discount on a subsequent billing statement.